About me

I live in motion.  I live in motion because it’s so damn fun and can’t keep myself from it.  The further I go, the better I feel. And the amazing folks we move with…!  Climbing and skiing are just a good excuse to go to incredible places with incredible people.  As magical as it all is, sometimes the mountains are unforgiving and cold.

Here I’ll try to convey the psych and sorrow of these adventures.

“We ski mountains further, faster and easier than ever before!”

Teague Holmes has been pushing Human Powered skiing. After competing in Freestyle, and North American Freeskiing competition and teaching/coaching skiing professionally,  Teague Holmes turned more energy to Ski Mountaineering and Skimo Racing.  Efficient technique and fitness gained from Ski Mountaineering Racing have been an effective training ground for larger mountain objectives.  Skimo, as it’s known, combines the demanding skills of downhill ski racing, the ability to charge in high consequence terrain, from Freeride skiing, and light and fast climbing skills of alpine mountain climbing.  Putting it all together makes flying up and down snowy mountains like a normal day out on skis.  Teague has made thousands of backcountry ski tours, speed ascents/descents, and many first descents, from summits of the Colorado Rockies, Wasatch, Tetons, Cascades, Canadian Rockies, Sierra Nevada,  Alps and beyond.  Teague knows that earning avalanche education, and continually pursuing a deeper understanding of Snow Science is a passion and necessity.   With all these things combined, 3000’ powder runs get slain before work in an hour and a half, long approaches are reduced to a gliding warm up, and 10k days is the norm.

“Now there truly IS no place too far. “

Sponsors
Faction Skis, Scarpa, Julio, Hestra Gloves, Gnarly Nutrition, Mountain Outfitters of Breckenridge.

Hometown

Colden, New York

Top career highlights

2017

Italy

-US Ski Mountaineering Team World Championships Alpago/Piancavallo Italy

France

-Pierra Menta Skimo 4 day stage race 8-9,000 vertical feet 3-4hrs racing per day

Aspen Colorado

-Double Bells 1st complete Enchainment of The Bell Cord Maroon Peak and North Face North Maroon Peak Elk Mountains Colorado

Gore Range Wilderness

-The Core of the Gore Enchainment- Gore Range Wilderness Colorado. Massive enchainment consisting of 8 valleys, 8 major steep ski descents 16,200’ vert in 26.2 miles 15hrs 50min.

Mt Rainier National Park

-Liberty Ridge Mt Rainier a ski descent of 50 Classics climb of North America.  9hrs from the car to the summit with freeride skis.

-Kautz Glacier Mt Rainier ski descent 9hrs RT from Paradise (car to car)

(2 complete descents of Mt Rainier each in a day car to car, on North and South sides including all three summits over a 3 day weekend.)

Wasatch Range UT

-32,000 vertical feet of knee to waist deep powder 17 totally fresh untracked lines in 3 days. Best period of powder skiing ever.

Skimo Racing 

-US Team 2017 Ski Mountaineering World Championships Alpago/Piancavallo Italy 6th place in the world.

-US Team 2015 World Ski Mountaineering Championships Verbier 2015

-2nd Taos 2016

-3rd Sunlight Heathen 2016

-2nd place Gore-Tex Grand Traverse Crested Butte to Aspen 2012

-3rd North American Ski Mountaineering Championships Brighton UT Technical Teams 2014.

-3rd National Ski Mountaineering Championships Crested Butte Technical Teams 2014.

-5th National Ski Mountaineering Championships Crested Butte Individual 2014

Other Big Mountain Adventures

-The Timp-Olympus Traverse

Mt Timpanogos to Mount Olympus in the Wasatch. 6 major summits, 28,000’? 50mi? watches and phones all died.

-Teton Trifecta in a day.

-Skiing complete lines on all 10 peaks in the 10 Mile Range, Colorado in a day totaling 16,000’ vert.

-Complete Ski traverse of the LaSal Range over Moab summiting twelve 12,000’ summits and covering over 35 miles and 19,000’ vert. 14hrs

-FKT speed ski of Quandary Peak 14,265’ gaining 3,330’ in 6.4 miles in 1:26’11 round trip.

-The Paradise Divide of Crested Butte including Richmond, Augusta, Mineral Pt, Purple, Treasury, Cinnamon, and Baldy all human powered 11hrs

-Gore Enchainment NE Bloodshaw, Peak N, NW Peak O with a first descent along the way.

-Descents of The Landry Line on Pyramid Peak 14’018

-The Grand Teton Ford Couloir, and Otterbody 13,776.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go and why?

Any of the Grater Ranges of the world with my best mountain partners. Because it’s all really just an excuse to go to incredible places with incredible people.

What’s your favorite song to sing in the car? 

At Transformation by The Tragically Hip

What’s your lifelong dream? 

To live a life worth living over again, to learn from those around me, to read something worth writing, write something worth reading, and arrive at the grave a little beat up and with no regrets.

What’s your favorite party trick? 

Buildering (Climbing Buildings) and disappearing by turning sideways.

Books 

The Rock Warriors Way Mental training for Climbers: Arno Ilgner The Four Agreements: Don Miguel Ruiz

Favorite local adventures

Skiing: Breckenridge Colorado- Buffalo Mountain, North Face of Quandary, Guyot, Bemrose

Wasatch Utah- South Face Superior, Grunge Couloir Timpanogos, Porter Fork

Sky Running: Breckenridge Colorado- Peak 1, Blue River East Skyline Traverse (Fredonia Gulch-Red-Hoosier Ridge-Red Peak-Boreas Pass-Baldy-Blue River Trail)

Wasatch Utah- Mt Olympus, West Ridge Grandeur

Trail Running: Breck- Horseshoe Gulch

Rock Climbing: Breck- Crystal Ball at Montezuma Lincoln Creek on Independence Pass, The Diamond on Longs Peak, Lumpy Ridge